Brindle 1: The Forest of Dreams
by Pipkin3
Summary: This is no where near good. But heres the deal. This was the original Brindle 1. But I've noticed similarities between this and B3. A new Brindle 1 is coming soon. This is the untouched version. STORY COULD SPOIL B3 FOR YOU AS THERE IS A SIMILIAR SECTION!


Brindles Adventure  
  
It was a fine morning and the grass was covered in dew. The sun was spreading colour across the sky like spilt paint. Brindle was sitting on his haunches, watching the sunrise. He was on his favourite spot,   
  
just 12 yards away from the mouth of the warren hole. The wood was in his sight. He was just gazing into the distance when someone bumped into him from behind. He turned. He saw a pretty young doe,   
  
picking herself up. 'I'm dreadfully sorry!' She said.  
  
'That's alright' Replied Brindle. Being rather shy of rabbits he didn't know, and there were a great many, he turned his gaze back to the wood. 'What are you looking at?' Asks the doe.  
  
'The Wood' came the reply. There was a pause.  
  
'I am Blethlin by the way' said Blethlin'  
  
'Brindle' said Brindle. His expression made her feel as if she should go. But she decided to try and break the surface off Brindle, and see what's inside. 'Lets go down to the wood! Have you been there before?'  
  
'No, but I'd like to. No one has ever offered to go with me before.' replied Brindle, looking Blethlin in the eye for the first time. 'I'm sorry if I seemed rude, but I'm not the most confident of rabbits'   
  
'I thought you weren't' said Blethlin. 'So I think my company would do you good! Come on, let's go down! They ran down the hill, the wind in their ears, until they had crossed the pylon line. Seconds later, they had stopped in the dark shadow of the wood. There was something wrong..........  
  
A young sentry was on duty at the edge of the wood, but they slipped passed him. The wood was covered in mist when they entered it. On the instant of their entrance into the wood, the mist thickened. The two moved in a little way. 'I don't like this' said Blethlin 'Lets go back'. But when they turned to go back, they found they couldn't. The edge of the wood had completely disappeared, but not because of the mist. It seemed as if it had been moved. One second it was just behind them, the next, it was gone. 'Lets split up and look for it' said Brindle to Blethlin. So they separated, each one going in a different direction.   
  
Brindle came to a fallen tree trunk. Below it was a rabbit hole. It looked familiar to him. He went down. He came to a narrow burrow. He thought it empty when there came a squeal of a   
  
distressed doe. Brindle came to a small version of the honeycomb. There was a doe, and two bucks. One was lying dead on the floor; the other had his back to him. He thought these rabbits were familiar   
  
to him. The doe was screaming angrily at the buck, with his back to her. He ignored her. Then he did something that made Brindle cry 'Great Frith!' which none of the others seem to have heard. The rabbit hopped straight through a collapsed burrow wall! Brindle realised he was an apparition or ghost. Brindle went tharn. He remembered this scene now! The dead buck was this does brother. The doe was his old mate Amia! And the disappearing buck was Brindle!  
  
Brindle managed to regain himself and run for his life, out of the burrow, and into the mist.  
  
'What is it? What's the matter?!' asked Blethlin, as Brindle came hurrying up.  
  
'We have to get out of here!' he panted  
  
'Why'  
  
'Because-because-because there are strange things going on and I don't like it!'  
  
They finally managed to find the edge of the wood, and get back to the burrow.   
  
A little later...........  
  
' So you say that this doe was Amia?' said Blethlin. 'But she's dead! She can't be here! And how can you have seen yourself?!'   
  
'I am guessing that its the misty cloud. Its bringing back the worst memories of all the animals that get caught in it!'  
  
'Why wasn't I affected?'  
  
'Because you have got no bad memories!' Brindle was annoyed that he had gone to pieces and Blethlin hadn't. He cursed himself for being such a nervous rabbit.  
  
The next morning was bright and sunny, but Brindle and Blethlin were not happy. They sat on the same spot as yesterday, looking in the direction of the wood once more. It was noticed the mist had grown considerable larger over time. They also noticed small animals scurrying away, with looks of tharn on their faces. One if them was the young sentry who they had sneaked passed to get into the wood. 'This is some sort of magic!' he exclaimed 'I've never seen anything like this in my life. There was only one who was said to be able to do this kind of thing'  
  
'Who?' asked Brindle and Blethlin.  
  
'My half-sister Morgra!' came the reply.  
  
'Nice was she?' retorted Brindle.  
  
'So' continued Rian, the young sentry, ignoring Brindle, ' If we find Morgra, we can get her to stop the spell!'  
  
'Well where is she?' queried Blethlin.  
  
'That's a snag. I don't know' said Rian  
  
'Well that's a lot of use!' said Blethlin, annoyed.  
  
'It is useful actually. We could start asking at neighbouring warrens to see if they know of her' said Brindle, matter of factly.  
  
'Theres bound to be more than one Morgra in the world' said Blethlin  
  
'Not that many!' continued Brindle.' But hasn't she got some sort of powers?' said Brindle ' Not like the tales of Hazel and Fiver, but more physical and mental?'  
  
'Well, that's another down side' said Rian  
  
'So when do we start the search?' asked Blethlin  
  
'Tomorrow!' shouted Brindle, and even he surprised himself. He was   
  
not the type to shout.  
  
The next day, the cloud had grown larger, and was spreading towards the warren. After continual discussions with the chief rabbit, they refused to leave the warren, so the 3 new friends were forced to look for Morgra.  
  
In actual fact it was Morgra who found them! She came up to Brindle one night, days after they had left Watership. It was midnight, fu inle, and Brindle woke when he heard a noise. He looked up at a rocky   
  
edge, and saw Morgra. He started slightly. 'Morgra?' queried Brindle.  
  
' How are you Brindle?' asked Morgra. Brindle thought she had a kind and pretty face.  
  
'I'm OK' he replied.   
  
' Shall we go and feed?' asked Morgra politely. Brindle accepted the offer. He did not see her evil twitch of the mouth as he passed her.   
  
Rian woke about an hour later, and smelt Morgra. He the   
  
noticed Brindle was gone. 'Blethlin! Wake up!' he shouted. Blethlin stirred. 'What is it?' 'She has got Brindle! We have to get to them before she does something to him! She might put him under a spell! Hurry!'  
  
Rian and Blethlin started the search for Brindle. Brindle was feeding with Morgra not too far away. 'So' she said 'Have you been here long?' She picked up a blade of grass with her teeth, and did something to it that Brindle could not see.' Not long. I'm not staying. Why are you doing this? Why are you setting nightmares on innocent creatures?'   
  
'Here take this, for it is better than this stuff you are eating!' she gave him the grass. He did not take it. 'For revenge', she continued. ' They threw me out the warren because I have powers that no other has had before. One by one it will destroy them all! The Nightmares make it slow and painful, just the way they all deserve to die!' She looked into Brindles eyes. He felt limp and in her control.  
  
'Why not take a bit of your delicious grass?' Brindle did so. Morgra at once lost all her beauty and elegence. There was a cruel look in her eyes. She sat up on her hind legs. 'Now you shall be in my control! Together, we shall   
  
destroy warrens, and rule the rabbit world! Then she stopped, and starred into the disatnce. There was nothing there.' They are coming. Come Brindle, you are under my control now!   
  
There was a short silence, in which the breeze that had been blowing disappeared. The birds stopped singing. No animal stirred.  
  
'Not quite!' said Brindle  
  
'What?!' exclaimed Morgra. ' But the grass! I put a spell on it!'  
  
' I didn't swallow it' said Brindle.  
  
'How dare you trick me!' she shrieked.  
  
'Brindle! Brindle get away from her!' It was Blethlin and Rian, coming to help.  
  
'How are you brother?'asked Morgra.  
  
'I 'd be better if you were gone once and for all!'   
  
'I could say the same thing about you!' she shrieked. She threw back her head, and shouted 'huyri ande liri theth! Over again, three times. It was as if the ground began to break away beneath them, but they weren't near a cliff. The four ran for it, as the ground beneath them began to fall away into nothing, Morgra still chanting..........  
  
The ground fell away beneath them. They managed to keep running. Brindle saw Morgra on a high cliff, just to there right. He leapt for it, and confronted Morgra. 'So' she said 'you are unwisely challenging me. Do you WANT to die?' she asked. 'No' said Brindle, 'And I'm sure I won't. If I do, I'm taking you with me!'  
  
Rian and Blethlin came up. 'Lets all battle then shall we? Lets have some fun!'   
  
She lifted her head up into the sky. She shouted out 'All my family, come hither, and join me!'   
  
Lightning stuck overhead. It began to rain. Brindle noticed that the ground had stopped falling, just short of them. But now he noticed the ground was being pushed up by something. It looked like little underground bubbles were trying to explode. But then, to the three heroes horror, the ground began to burst open. Two rabbits came out of it. But they no longer looked like rabbits. They had been dead for years. There skin was rotting, full of maggots. They had no eyes, and all that could be seen was bone.   
  
'Kill them!' shrieked Morgra. The two advanced on Brindle. Blethlin lunged and cuffed one around the head. It rolled over. Then Rian leapt upon Brindle, who was about to attack the other. 'What are you doing!?' he cried. 'Listening to my mistress. Destroying you!' he replied, with an evil cry.   
  
'Do listen to what I say Brindle! I summoned my family. He is my brother. Would you like to die at the claws of a friend' said Morgra maliciously.  
  
Blethlin suddenly noticed the commotion. She leapt upon the other body, and managed to knock its head off with its claw. She was petrified, but she wasn't going to go tharn. Her friends needed her.  
  
Then she leapt onto Rian, and pulled him off Brindle. She tried not to hurt him.   
  
While they were fighting, Brindle leapt upon Morgra. They bit and scratched at each other.  
  
Soon, blood covered them both. They at the edge of the cliff now, and could see only darkness below it. Morgra was on the edge. She was pleading for Brindle to save her. 'Me, save you? He cried. 'Very well!' she said. And then they were fighting again. Biting and scratching. 'You cannot stop me' she said. Brindle was right. He was worn out, and she seemed to be getting power from nowhere. But then Brindle noticed something that Morgra could not see. The weight of the tow rabbits fighting had dislodged the rock they were standing on. Brindle gave a massive leap, and landed on the soft grass.  
  
The cliff edge fell away, and Morgra fell into the darkness.   
  
The effect of Morgra's disappearance had a great effect on the surroundings. The ground reappeared. Flowers came back into bloom. The storm passed, and the sun shone out brightly. Rian stopped biting Blethlin. He sat there, and said 'What have been doing?' and the other two just laughed at him. They were so happy things had gone back to normal. They ran all the way home, still not telling Rian what he had been doing. He kept asking 'What's so funny? Come on guys its not fair! Tell me!' But they never did till this very day.   
  
The journey back was different from what they remembered. There were no longer mad animals around, though some were dazed.   
  
Brindle, Rian and Blethlin finally arrived home, and were warmly welcomed back by the others. All three were glad the adventure was over! 


End file.
